Clos Ancestral Red
PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE, PROTECTING THE EARTH
For more than 2,000 years, winegrowing has existed around Castell de la Bleda, in the heart of Penedès. Remains from the Iberian, Roman, and medieval periods, as well as from just before the phylloxera plague, have all been found at this site. Since the early 1980s, we have been working to recover ancestral varieties to play a part in recovering Catalonia’s vineyard heritage and look for solutions to deal with climate change. Over time, we have seen that besides showing great winemaking potential, some of these varieties are extremely resistant to high temperatures and drought. This is the case of Moneu, an ancestral variety native to Penedès, which we have reintroduced by planting it in the Castell de la Bleda vineyard, and that now forms part of our Clos Ancestral blend.
Castell de la Bleda, located near our iconic Mas La Plana estate, in the Turons de Vilafranca subzone, is a vineyard categorized as a Cultural Asset of National Interest that stands on the remains of a medieval castle and has winegrowing history dating back to the Iberian period. This 16-hectare vineyard is planted on deep soils with a loamy texture and is mainly given over to growing and studying Moneu.
DO Penedès
With 2,700 years of winemaking history to its name, making it the oldest winemaking region in Catalonia, DO Penedès is a broad, open appellation that stretches across a swathe of land between the sea and mountains, midway between Barcelona and Tarragona. The influence of the sun and the Mediterranean Sea makes Penedès an exceptional region for winegrowing. Its unique nature is responsible for the diversity of DO Penedès wines, with the differences in climate, landscape, and soil resulting in a thousand flavours and aromas.